Saturday, December 22, 2012

There is just something about a smoothie that satisfies the taste buds, regardless of the weather! Grab the sunscreen or the snuggle duds or ‘long johns’ or even snuggle up to the fireplace and enjoy a smoothie!

Think Smoothies after the holidays when all of that food is being digested!

Rather than skip breakfast as so many of want to, just try a smoothie! Not only does it have more nutrients, it is easier to eat. I prefer the frozen kind, but it can also be eaten thru a straw.

There are so many foods to add to a smoothie. So many vegetables, fruits, nuts and don’t forget the protein powders!

I started using protein powders after discovering that gluten was the culprit that was making me sick. I never really liked meat, but was not getting enough protein. Both my nails and hair were very brittle, so I began searching for a cause. One of the reasons found was not enough protein. Once I started using protein powders, the nails improved rather quickly, but the hair took a bit of time. Disclaimer:This is not to say this is the reason for everyone’s brittle nails and hair, it worked for me.

For whatever reason, you may use protein powders, they do add nutrients.

ProcedurePlace all ingredients in a blender capable of crushing ice (or a frozen concoction maker). Replace the top on the blender jar. This may also be made in one of the new food masticator type of blenders.

Pulse two or three times to get it started, push down the ingredients. Turn the blender shown on ‘ice crush’. Stop and push down as necessary.

A stick blender works well too, you may have to stir it a couple of times. Stir the mixture so that it will blend easier.

After the mixture is completed blended (no large particles showing, serve in parfait glasses.

Author NotesThis can be made using fresh fruit, but will be liquid instead of frozen. Add the ice cubes at the beginning to reduce preparation time. Although the ice cubes can be omitted, I prefer the addition of the ice cubes to make it a bit smoother.

Feel free to add complementary items to the smoothie. If you add for instance oatmeal, reduce the broccoli or orange, because both have lots of fiber.

Warning: the top must be on the blender when pulsing, or there will be splashes everywhere!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

There have been several questions on what to do with the pulp left after making DIY almond milk.

In the past, I have added it to smoothies and muffins. Today, I decided to go even further and convert my Chocolate Condensed Milk Cake to flourless using some of the ground almonds.

This may not work for all because the almond meal left could be drier than my version . It’s a bit of trial and error, if you really squeeze all liquid from the ground almonds, baking time will be less. Since mine had a bit more liquid, the cake takes longer to bake. I also ground the almonds to the smooth consistency of nut butter after making the ‘milk’. To make this cake using this method, the remaining almonds should be smooth, not grainy!

Be prepared to let the cake bake for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the amount of liquid in the ground almonds.

This is a dark chocolaty dense decadent cake. It is a one layer or half-size cake. The cake puffs up and deflates as it finishes baking, becoming a chocolaty decadent cake.

This cake is for those who really love dark chocolate!

Chocolate Flour-less Condensed Milk Cake

This is a cake that uses the leftovers from DIY almond milk

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp almond oil, optional

1/2 cup Granulated Stevia (or granulated sugar)

7 ounces fat free sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

1/2 cup finely ground almonds (from making almond milk)

6 tbsp cocoa

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp powdered (confectioners) sugar, for garnish

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure

·Grease pan with shortening and dust with cocoa. After shaking pan to cover it, tap any additional cocoa into the bowl to mix into the cake.There should be no more than an additional teaspoon of cocoa.

·Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

·Beat butter and sweetener at high speed until fluffy. Continue mixing, adding in condensed milk and eggs. Beat in vanilla and almond extract.

After making the almond milk, the remains were put thru the food processor for about 5 minutes.The result was creamy, minus the fat that went to the milk.The texture is similar to the nut butter minus the fat.So re-grind the remains, instead of throwing them out.

If, the cake appears wet near the bottom after baking, one of two things can be done, return it to the oven or place it in the microwave , uncovered for about 3 or more minutes on high, checking it carefully.

I was a little hesitant to do this post, but I know there are some who wonder if there is anything else to use the ‘almond pulp’ except smoothies or throwing it in the garbage.

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About Me

I am retired AND I am severely gluten-sensitive.
I retired July 31, 2009 after almost 30 years in Information Technology.
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After discovering that I cannot eat anything containing wheat-gluten in 2006, I am learning new ways to make meals. Whole grains are now a part of my food list more than ever before.
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Baking has always been enjoyable to me. I am really enjoying converting or creating new gluten free goodies. Gluten free baking ingredients can be very expensive. Some cost cutting can be achieved by grinding your own nut flours as needed because they tend to be used less than others. My new goal is to compile an illustrated gluten-free cookbook.
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I hope to also show that not all gluten-intolerant people are under-weight, young or of obvious European Descent. There are many of us ‘baby boomers’ ‘senior citizens’ ‘over-weight’ or ‘old people’ who have severe reactions to gluten!
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Hopefully diagnosis will be made earlier so that no one suffers the related auto-immune diseases that seem to follow pattern from non-absorption of necessary nutrients.